Asheville, North Carolina: Drinking and dining in Portland's country cousin

Toward the southern end of the intensely scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, which is aflame with autumnal colors this time of year, lies a small city in the midst of the Appalachian Mountains. It's perhaps one of the more liberal towns below the Mason-Dixon line, with more hipsters than hillbillies. But they all meld into an eclectic culture with a tagline that's familiar to Portlanders: "Asheville: Where normal is weird."

Tim Mainiero

With this similar motto comes a similarly laid-back attitude, artsy culture, respect for the land and big thirst for craft brews. This is a town with a musician on every corner and a dog in every lap, and for a population of less than 90,000, there's an astounding abundance of restaurants, cafes and breweries to put Asheville's scene on the nation's radar.

"Beer City, USA"?

If you are from Portland, bartenders in Asheville will undoubtedly ask how you feel about their little town with 10 breweries beating out your big town with over 50 (more than any other city in the world) for the title of "Beer City, USA." Awarded to Asheville in an informal Examiner.com poll for four years running, the title is a point of pride in this beer-obsessed city.

"While there is no single event that triggered the beer culture, Oscar Wong starting Highland Brewing Company in 1994 was the starting point of the modern-day craft beer era in Asheville," says Win Bassett, executive director of the North Carolina Brewers Guild. "It grew into a craft beer destination due to the passionate community support of local breweries and the breweries' support for the community."

Highland is still the highlight of the Asheville craft beer movement, and you can take a brewery tour at 4 p.m. any day but Sunday. It's located a distance from the downtown core, but don't worry if you can't make it there -- Highland's beers are widely distributed. You'll find their acclaimed Gaelic Ale in many pubs, like Thirsty Monk, a popular downtown Belgian and American craft beer bar, which recently started its own brewery, too. Another one of the oldest local breweries, Green Man, has a tasting room downtown, where it's possible to catch a glimpse of the brewers in action.

The hip newcomer on the scene is Wedge Brewing Company in the River Arts District, an area reminiscent of Portland's Alberta neighborhood. At this bohemian, oh-so-Asheville brewery, you can enjoy a pint of Iron Rail IPA on the outdoor patio and grab a bite from one of the food trucks parked in front.

For true beer aficionados, Pisgah Brewing Company is worth the 20-minute trek to Black Mountain at the base of the Pisgah Forest to taste the southeast's first all-organic beers. The seasonal releases are often the most acclaimed, so check out what's on tap when you go

For an insider's look at the local breweries, take an Asheville Brews Cruise tour. The knowledgeable guide will tell you as much as you want to know about the burgeoning scene. With national companies like Sierra Nevada and New Belgium each building East Coast outposts here, it's likely that Asheville's beer industry is just getting started.

Southern comfort for breakfast

Quintessential Southern food makes for some of the world's best breakfasts. So if you're craving the classics, don't skip the most important meal of the day in this town. Downtown at Tupelo Honey Cafe, you get proper Southern cookery with mountainous portions and a bit of flair, like sweet potato pancakes topped with whipped peach butter and spiced pecans. The Sunshot Vegetable Plate is a good way to sample Dixie favorites like mac-and-cheese, fried green tomatoes and corn bread.

If you're looking for a Southern spin on vegetarian and vegan options, go around the corner to Early Girl Eatery. This place prides itself on its commitment to purchasing from regional farms. Don't miss the best-ever biscuits with creamy, herbaceous vegetarian gravy. Another excellent veggie option is the Early Girl Benny of pan-fried grits cakes topped with spinach, poached eggs, avocado and sultry tomato gravy.

If daybreak finds you across town in the gentrifying neighborhood of West Asheville, get in line at local-favorite Sunny Point Cafe for a shrimp-and-grits fix.

Globe-trotting lunches

After taking in the galleries, boutiques and art deco architecture downtown, break for lunch at Chai Pani. Though chef-owner Meherwan Irani is indeed Indian, his menu of Southern Indian street food isn't strictly authentic. Instead, you get the best of both worlds with Carolina-meets-India dishes such as fried green tomato pakoras or matchstick okra fries sprinkled with lime and seasoning salt.

Rumor has it that 12 Bones Smokehouse is President Obama's favorite spot when he comes through town. Though Ashevillians aren't as revered for their barbecuing skills as the rest of the state, this weekday-lunch-only joint is doing its own take on Carolina 'cue with tricked-out sauces including the award-winning blueberry-chipotle. But don't over-order in the smoked meats department because the sides are the real treasures here -- the custardy jalapeno corn pudding and mashed sweet potatoes are both musts.

Just a hop across the French Broad River, in the River Arts District, you'll find globally inspired tacos at White Duck Taco Shop. This is fusion done right, with ambience that's as vibrant as the flavors packed between the corn tortillas. A surefire filling is the Bangkok Shrimp coated in a sweet sesame glaze, with spicy house-pickled cucumbers and carrots, plus sweet chili aioli.

Not-so-countrified dinners

Though you'll find enough pimento cheese and barbecued pork around town to satiate your comfort cravings, Asheville's hottest dinner houses are putting a fresher spin on Southern ingredients. At Downtown's Table, local flavor merges with refined technique. Dishes might include trout plucked from a nearby mountain river, vegetables called out by their heirloom varietal, and house-made charcuterie, such as country ham, made from local pigs.

In up-and-coming West Asheville, The Admiral is perhaps the most Portland-esque restaurant in town, with its seasonal, meatcentric small plates, tattooed chefs and hipster-cool clientele. It's also white-hot, which means there's a two-week wait for reservations, so you'll need to plan ahead for this one. Don't fret if you don't get in, because the best dining in Asheville is found back across town at Curate. At the kitchen's helm is chef Katie Button, a semifinalist for the 2012 James Beard "Rising Star Chef" award, who opened this authentic tapas bar with her family after returning from Spain and a seven-month stint at El Bulli. If you have just one night to eat in Asheville, do it here.

Extracurricular activities

The city's biggest attraction, literally, is the 175,000-square-foot Biltmore House built in 1895 by railroad heir George W. Vanderbilt. Though the mansion is open to the public for touring, it remains the nation's largest privately owned home with 250 rooms.

One of the coolest ways to experience the 8,000-acre estate is to forage the woods with No Taste Like Home's Alan Muskat, who leads wild food foraging expeditions to scenic plots of forested land around the city. According to Muskat, the Asheville area is one of the most biodiverse regions of the country. An outing this time of the year could turn up a variety of fall mushrooms, wild persimmons, burdock root and chestnuts.

Another way to scope out regional produce and specialty foods is to visit one of the city's 10 or so tailgate-style farmers markets. On Saturdays, the North Asheville Tailgate Market hits the UNC Asheville campus.

A trip to North Carolina just wouldn't be complete without hitting the barbecue trail, and it's doable from Asheville in a day trip. Head east on Interstate 40 to Lexington, the "Barbecue Capital of North Carolina."

Music is a big part of Asheville's culture, so be sure to get in a live show. Considered one of the country's premiere rock venues, The Orange Peel plays host to legendary musicians and up-and-coming bands, with past acts ranging from The Flaming Lips to Lucinda Williams. The Grey Eagle is the place to catch local bluegrass bands or singer-songwriters on the verge of making it big.

Live bands are known to spontaneously perform outside at The Bywater, too. Be aware that North Carolina liquor laws are about as funky as Oregon's, so you'll have to become a member here, or at any other bar that serves liquor without selling food. It's as easy as paying a five-dollar fee at the door, which includes as many people as you'd like to bring. And The Bywater is worth the cover: It's a sprawling, full-acre beer garden along the banks of the French Broad River, with cornhole, horseshoes, picnic tables and grills. Yep, folks bring their own charcoal and coolers full of food to grill while enjoying barrel-aged cocktails made at the bar. The Willamette sure could use one of these.

Asheville has a rich literary history, which includes authors such as Thomas Wolfe, O. Henry and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Settle into a leather chair, sip a glass of champagne and lose yourself in a book at the incredibly charming Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar. Be sure to engage store owner Thomas Wright in a chat -- he'll give you a good dose of Asheville history, among other musings on life.

Don't leave Asheville without taking in the best view of the cityscape, with a cocktail in hand, on the terrace of the historic Grove Park Inn. As you watch the sun go down behind the bushy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you'll see why the Southern elite of yesteryear thought of this place as a resort town.